


Drift Compatible

by ras_elased



Series: Android Coleslaw AU [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pacific Rim Fusion, M/M, shingeki no kaiju
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-13
Updated: 2015-06-13
Packaged: 2018-04-04 06:12:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4127865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ras_elased/pseuds/ras_elased
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erwin finds his newest recruit in the middle of the Shatterdome, a mess of brown hair and starstruck green eyes that stare up at the Jaeger with rapt interest. The heat and noise of the construction is oppressive, but Eren seems immune, letting the sparks fly around him while he looks at the machine with single-minded focus.</p><p>Erwin approaches from Eren's right, keeping his amputated arm out of Eren's direct line of sight. People's reactions to the stump of his right arm don't bother him anymore, but Eren is a young soldier, and Erwin imagines the last thing he needs right now is to be confronted with a reminder of just how brutal fighting a Kaiju can become. He'll learn it soon enough, first hand.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Drift Compatible

**Author's Note:**

> So I've had this idea banging around inside my brain for a while, but TwistedK's awesome [Pacific Rim AU](http://twistedkit.tumblr.com/post/121367794884/the-first-drift-arrives-at-0300-hours-and-erwin-is) just lit that fire all over again, so I decided to write a bit of it to get it out of my system!

Erwin finds his newest recruit in the middle of the Shatterdome, a mess of brown hair and starstruck green eyes that stare up at the Jaeger with rapt interest. The heat and noise of the construction is oppressive, but Eren seems immune, letting the sparks fly around him while he looks at the machine with single-minded focus.

Erwin approaches from Eren's right, keeping his amputated arm out of Eren's direct line of sight. People's reactions to the stump of his right arm don't bother him anymore, but Eren is a young soldier, and Erwin imagines the last thing he needs right now is to be confronted with a reminder of just how brutal fighting a Kaiju can become. He'll learn it soon enough, first hand.

"Hello, Eren."

Eren flinches, startled, and offers a hasty salute. "Marshal Smith!"

Erwin nods up at the Jaeger, noting that Eren has already found the one he'll be piloting. "I see Shadis has given out Jaeger assignments."

"Yes, sir," Eren says, turning his gaze back up to the machine. "This one...it was my father's final design, before..."

Erwin feels a pang at the way Eren's voice wavers. He's aware of Eren's family history. His mother was killed years ago in the first Kaiju attack, and his father was recently killed when his laboratory went up in flames. The bomb was later traced to Kaiju worshipping terrorists. 

"I was sorry to hear about your father," Erwin says, voice quiet. "He was a great man, and in many ways he's the reason humanity has survived this long."

"Thank you, sir." Eren continues to look up into the face of the machine his father built, but Erwin notices the telltale trace of wetness on his lashes and looks away, giving the boy a moment.

Erwin turns his gaze to the tower of metal, white paint down the side of the chest spelling out 'Rogue Titan.' Workers scurry like ants across the shiny surface, sparks kicking up in their wakes as they rivet and weld. The harnesses they wear are anchored to cables at their hips, allowing for easy movement through the air as they work. Even from this distance, Erwin can easily spot Levi amongst the rest. It's something about the way he moves. Levi on the ground is light on his feet, coiled and tense, like he's just waiting for someone to throw the first punch. But in the air he moves with a kind of fluid grace, like the gear is an extension of his body, a weapon. From the moment they'd met, Erwin had known Levi was a fighter, not a mechanic.

After a moment, Erwin realizes he is watching Levi with the same attention Eren is devoting to the Jaeger, and he redirects his focus. "We can begin testing some of the other unpaired cadets for Drift compatibility once you've settled in. Do you have anyone in mind?"

"Um, well I—" Eren stops himself, then says, "I'll let you choose, sir."

Erwin watches him a moment, sure there had been more Eren planned to say, but he lets it pass. He'll start the testing with Eren's two arrival companions, cadets Ackerman and Arlert. He suspects the search will end with one or both of them.

The whir of cables catches Erwin's attention before he even hears Levi's voice. "Hey Erwin, these shitty rivets the government sent aren't going to cut it. They're already starting to rust."

Erwin looks up at Levi where he hovers, poised against the metal foot of the Jaeger about a meter above them so that Erwin has to crane his neck to meet Levi's eyes. Erwin suspects he does it on purpose. 

"I'll request a new lot, but funding is tight," Erwin says, and Levi's gray eyes narrow beneath the raised visor of his welding mask. His skin is covered in sweat and grease, and Erwin knows that makes him more irritable than usual. "The government feels the Jaeger program has become a wasteful expense," he explains, even though he knows Levi is aware.

Erwin pulls a handkerchief from his pocket and holds it out. As if on command, Levi drops fully to the ground, taking the cloth and rubbing it over his arms and face as he mutters, "Cheap bastards. Just because the fat pigs of the interior feel safe doesn't mean we are." Levi pockets the cloth, and Erwin knows it will turn up in his quarters later, freshly laundered and sharply folded.

"The price for being too good at killing Kaiju, I guess," Eren says, and Levi looks at him like he just now realized he was there. Erwin takes it upon himself to make introductions. 

"Eren, this is Levi, one of our top mechanics. He's currently in charge of upgrading your weapons systems."

"Which is why I need to talk to you," Levi says, ignoring the introduction with his usual lack of social grace. "I'd like to pull in some other people to rework the deployment mechanism."

"Whatever you think is best, Levi. I'll trust your judgment." He gestures to Eren and says, "Levi, I'd like you to meet our newest recruit, Eren Jaeger."

Levi's eyes snap to Eren at that, and he says, "...Jaeger." While Erwin suspects most of the people in the Jaeger Program would get excited upon hearing that name, Levi's tone is flat, skeptical.

Eren raises his chin at Levi's tone, sets his jaw and says, "My father was Grisha." 

Erwin watches as Levi connects the dots. Eren is the son of Grisha Jaeger, the man who envisioned and created the Jaeger Program. "I see," he says and cuts a look at Erwin that says he knows what Erwin is thinking, but he's not going to comment. They're both aware that the government has been contemplating shutting down the Jaeger Program in favor of a coastal wall, and Erwin isn't above taking advantage of Eren's presence for some positive visibility and PR for the program.

"So why are you behind the wheel of a Jaeger instead of carrying on your dad's work?" Levi asks, blunt as ever.

Eren frowns for a moment, and Erwin thinks he might have to step in and smooth over Levi's words, but then Eren says, "It's like you said, no one is safe with the Kaiju out there. I want to fight. My father designed machines that can tear them apart, limb from limb." There's a fire in his eyes unlike anything Erwin has seen in his other soldiers as Eren says, "So I'm going to wipe out the Kaiju. Every last one."

There's a subtle shift in Levi's posture, and Erwin can tell he's pleased by Eren's answer. "Fair enough," he says.

"Eren," Erwin interjects, "why don't you grab some dinner and head back to your quarters? You'll need to be well rested for training tomorrow."

Eren nods, giving another salute. "Yes sir," he says, and with a nod in parting he turns and maneuvers his way through the hectic activity of the Shatterdome.

Erwin watches him go. Levi is silent by his side, and Erwin waits, even though he already knows what Levi will have to say. After several moments, once Eren is almost out of sight, Levi speaks. "He's just a kid, Erwin."

Erwin sighs. "Yes, I know." His words feel heavy with that knowledge. "But I'm sure you're aware of how difficult it is to find Jaeger pilots these days."

Levi's silence feels expectant, so Erwin obliges. "My offer still stands," he says, the ghost of a smile touching his lips, because this conversation has become a familiar song and dance by now.

"And my answer's still no, old man," Levi says, but his voice is quietly fond, the corner of his mouth turning up as he slants his gaze up at Erwin. While Erwin is convinced Levi would make a skilled Jaeger pilot, in truth, Levi's reaction is why Erwin keeps asking, despite the refusal he knows will follow. He suspects Levi has started to draw some form of comfort from the request, from feeling needed, and from knowing that Erwin sees value in him.

"Besides," Levi adds, "I'm not exactly what you'd call Drift compatible."

Erwin looks at him and thinks about Levi's calm presence despite the deep well of emotion he knows exists below the surface. He thinks about the fastidiousness of Levi's quarters. He thinks about the way Levi had refused to try Drifting even at the suggestion of pairing with Farlan or Isabel. He thinks, _No. There's a difference between being unable to Drift and being afraid of opening yourself up to the Drift._

Some of Erwin's thoughts must show on his face, or perhaps Levi simply knows Erwin too well, because Levi's expression closes off and he looks away. "If you're so hard up for pilots, there's nothing stopping you from getting back in a Jaeger."

Erwin lets out a low chuckle, but there's no humor there. "It's a little difficult to pilot a Jaeger without a right arm," he says, rolling the sudden tightness from his right shoulder at the reminder. Even after all this time, Erwin sometimes still forgets it's missing. Other times, it hurts so badly it makes him shake, like the machinery is still twisting it into a mangled mess. Those are the times Erwin seems to hear Mike's voice in his head, Mike's dying thoughts ringing in his ears as he watched the closest thing he'd had to a brother get ripped apart by a Kaiju.

"Hey," Levi says, and Erwin blinks out of his thoughts to see Levi wearing an expression similar to whenever he finds new dust bunnies while cleaning Erwin's office. "Stop that. You don't need a right arm to pilot a Jaeger, Erwin." There's such conviction in Levi's voice that Erwin almost believes it. "There's two pilots. You just need someone to _be_ your right arm."

Erwin stares down at him, and he feels like he's forgotten how to breathe. Levi just stares right back, and Erwin can see the sparks from the Jaeger construction reflected in the steel of Levi's eyes. He swallows, mouth gone suddenly dry. "Yes, I suppose you're right," he says, and his smile feels forced. "If you'll excuse me, I should go start filling out a request for a new set of rivets," he says, and thinks that perhaps Levi isn't the only one afraid of the Drift.

Erwin feels Levi's eyes on his back as he follows the same path Eren had taken earlier. Eventually, he hears the familiar whir and hiss of cords as Levi hoists himself skyward to resume work on the Jaeger. 

Once Erwin has filed the request form, along with a strongly worded letter to key politicians about the need for high quality construction materials, he makes his way to his quarters. There is a neatly folded square of cloth resting on his pillow, and when Erwin lifts it to his face he catches a whiff of the special soap that Levi uses. He smiles, a little sad, as he tucks the handkerchief into his inside breast pocket, just over his heart.

**Author's Note:**

> AND THEN THERE'S A MASSIVE KAIJU ATTACK AND THEY HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO FIGHT AND SO THEY ADMIT THEY'RE ~~IN LOVE~~ DRIFT COMPATIBLE AND PILOT A JAEGER NAMED "ANDROID COLESLAW" TO VICTORY.


End file.
